Canada needs clean energy and technology investments to meet emission targets: PM. Prime Minister Mark Carney says Canada has too much regulation and not enough investments in clean energy and technology — and he's making his most direct repudiation yet of his predecessor's environmental policies. "Because I care about the issue fundamentally, I care about what gets done," Carney said...
The spring federal election saw voters elect four MPs who were born in the 2000s -- the first Canadians from that age cohort ever to take seats in the House of Commons. Eight months into the job, the young MPs -- representing ridings across the country -- say they think they're already making a difference. Liberal MPs Fares Al Soud...
Federal public servants are expected to learn about job cuts in their departments when they return from their holiday break. Departments such as Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, Environment and Climate Change and Employment and Social Development have told their staff already that news on job cuts will be shared in the new year. Ottawa is looking to cut program spending...
Prime minister says AI, critical minerals are areas of concern. Prime Minister Mark Carney has begun to lay out publicly what he sees as boundaries when dealing with China, as his government wades into a new relationship with the economic giant. Carney, who earlier this year called China one of Canada's biggest security threats, has more recently spoken openly about...
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre says Canadian voters know he’s a “fighter,” but that he needs to do a better job explaining what he’s actually fighting for. In a year-end interview with Global News anchor and executive editor Dawna Friesen, Poilievre said he has reflected on his leadership and approach after April’s disappointing election loss. One of his conclusions was that...
This piece has a simple goal. It is not to praise Mark Carney or to criticize him. It is not to argue that his rise was inevitable, nor to suggest it was purely accidental. The goal is to understand how someone who was virtually unknown to most Canadians in mid-2024 became Prime Minister less than a year later, and what...
The research gauged the opinions among Canadians on their perceptions and concerns regarding economic conditions and housing affordability. Respondents were asked about their expectations for the next generation’s standard of living, with options ranging from higher to lower standards compared to today. Additionally, the survey gauged individuals’ worries about their ability to pay for housing in the near term and...
If the theme of 2025 in Canadian politics was to expect the unexpected, the ways in which the political world turned upside down will reverberate into 2026. Everyone will have their own surprise developments of this truly tumultuous year, but here are my top five picks for the big country-shaking shifts of 2025.
Sergio Marchi got himself elected to North York city council at the tender age of 26, and just two years later, became a Liberal MP, just in time to see his party thrashed by Brian Mulroney’s Progressive Conservatives in 1984. But he stuck around, eventually earning three different jobs in Jean Chretien’s cabinets between 1993 and 2000. He chronicles it...
For companies that arrive cap-in-hand to pitch energy or mining projects that might meet Canada’s moment of economic reckoning, a sit-down with the most influential member of Prime Minister Mark Carney’s cabinet can be a novel and jarring experience. Tim Hodgson isn’t much for the pleasantries that usually kick off such meetings, sometimes at length, with other ministers. Nor does...
Several members of the government’s artificial intelligence task force say they are worried Ottawa has already fallen behind in the global race to capitalize on a burgeoning economic driver, but they believe the forthcoming AI strategy may provide an opportunity for Canada to catch up. Louis Têtu, executive chairman of the AI software multinational Coveo, said Canada has long suffered...
Across Ontario, too many people are making impossible medical choices. Ontarians are splitting pills, skipping doses, or going without heat or food to afford life-saving medication. It is a quiet crisis that exposes a glaring gap in our universal health care system: prescription drugs are still not universally covered. Convened by Canadian Doctors for Medicare, we’ve joined a multi-party group...
It’s a grand bargain that feels like a fire sale. That at least is how some have characterized the Memorandum of Understanding on energy that was signed late last month by Prime Minister Mark Carney and Alberta Premier Danielle Smith.
Last week I carefully read the statement of strategic purpose of the Trump administration, a document published by every recent incoming administration within a year of its inauguration. The strategic statement has been received with misgivings by members of the Fortress America school that holds that the United States should be ready at all times to repulse any initiative from...
There’s an old clip going around on social media this week showing Stephen Harper on his feet in the Commons batting away a question about the supposed impropriety of a Liberal MP crossing over to join his Conservatives. It was 2006 and Harper was being accused of “seducing” Liberal David Emerson over to his side. The then-PM first shrugged it...
Ten months away from a crucial provincial election, the Quebec Liberal Party (QLP) finds itself without a leader. Pablo Rodriguez, elected head of the party just last June, was forced to resign following a series of internal disputes and allegations of improprieties in the funding of his leadership campaign. For Rodriguez, a kind, affable man, this is nothing short of...
As Energy Minister Tim Hodgson says he's getting 'a lot of inquiries' about supporting the Liberal agenda, the Power & Politics panel of party insiders discusses whether Prime Minister Mark Carney's policies may 'attract' enough opposition MPs to reach a majority in the House.
A few days after Michael Ma decided to cross the floor to the Liberals, Pierre Poilievre was asked whether the loss of another MP was a problem for his leadership of the Conservative Party. On the contrary, Poilievre argued, it was a problem for the leadership of Mark Carney. The prime minister was, in Poilievre's words, "trying to manipulate his...
Given the economic and geopolitical events of the past year, it’s tempting to say that Mark Carney’s introduction to elected politics has been a baptism by fire. On closer inspection, it has really been defined by the kind of cosmic luck that most politicians can only dream of. There’s no disputing that 2025 was an unprecedentedly disruptive year in the...
Canada is being battered by an especially bad flu season. None of this should be particularly surprising, since we had data from the southern hemisphere’s flu season to suggest once winter reared its head here we would be in for the same flu-induced misery as our cousins below the equator. In a normal country, this kind of advance notice would...
At some point, Danielle Smith is going to have to pick a side. For months now, Alberta’s premier has been catering to the separatists who dominate the membership of her United Conservative Party while insisting she doesn’t explicitly support their cause. But their appetite just keeps growing, and with Smith’s government clearing the way for a referendum on Alberta independence...
As Canada prepares to enter its second year navigating the aggressive trade policies of Donald Trump, it’s worth pausing a moment to take stock and remind ourselves of what will and won’t work as the focus shifts to the future of the Canada-US-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA). While most Canadians would agree that the tariff policies of Donald Trump have created challenges...
Pierre Poilievre’s weekend appearance on CBC with Rosemary Barton wasn’t remarkable for what was said. It was revealing for what still couldn’t be said. There was no acknowledgment that losing an election he was widely expected to win might merit reflection. No acceptance that losing his own seat could justify a rethink of a political style built almost entirely on...
I thought long and hard before going to a public Hanukkah candle lighting recently. I wouldn’t have gone if my grandson were with me. As it was, my husband asked me to promise to remain on the periphery of the crowd in case I had to run. We’ve been to Bondi Beach. It’s one of those picture-perfect beaches you see...
NDP leadership hopeful Avi Lewis earlier this month released his shoot-for-the stars climate policy, titled A Green New Deal for Canada. It’s a retooled shopping list of laudable ideas, starting with a complete ban on new fossil fuel extraction projects, which we know are the single biggest contributor to global warming. Lewis proposes investing billions in “clean energy, building retrofits...
Over lunch the other day, the talk was about how 2025 had triggered a surge of patriotism in this country on account of the back-of-the-hand treatment from the United States. “It’s extraordinary,” said Duncan Ault, a lawyer friend. “As a Canadian I feel a foot taller.” For much of our history we’ve been in the thrall of the U.S., so...
December is becoming a cruel month for some of Canada’s opposition leaders, from Quebec to B.C. Now, with the second floor crossing from the federal Conservatives to the Liberals in under a month, Pierre Poilievre must consider his own future. Having lost the April federal election in spectacular fashion — including losing his own seat — the hits keep coming...
It was one year ago that federal politics changed dramatically. Then-deputy prime minister and finance minister Chrystia Freeland wrote her poison pen letter to then-prime minister Justin Trudeau, stepped away from cabinet, didn’t deliver the planned fall economic statement, and set in motion a chain of events no one could have foreseen. Within a few weeks, Trudeau announced he was...
Canada is still adjusting to the dramatic political changes that affected the country in 2025. The coming year will likely include the same kind of disruptions both at home and elsewhere that will shake the political firmament in 2026. The dramatic comeback of the Liberal Party this past year and its victory in the April general election stood the political...
Henry VIII divorced or executed his wives not because they failed in their duties, but because they could not satisfy his constant quest for personal validation and desire for a male heir. Canada is dealing with a sovereign with a similar outsized ego in the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement trade negotiations. U.S. businesses and consumers want the marriage to last. However...
Any time you hear someone say “Canadians want this” or “Canadians think that,” you should be skeptical. There is no single Canadian consumer of politics. There is no unified national preference waiting to be discovered and satisfied. What we call public opinion is not one market but many, layered on top of each other, shaped by different pressures, levels of...
Speculation abounds over who is waiting to take over the party.
In the wake of the horrific antisemitic terrorist attack on a Hanukkah celebration at Bondi Beach in Sydney – in which 15 people were murdered and more than two dozen injured – politicians and other public figures commenced the now-typical routine of issuing condemnations. The routine began after the unspeakable mass atrocities of Oct. 7, 2023 – the worst antisemitic...
Ambassador Kirsten Hillman announced last week that she will be leaving her role as Canada’s Ambassador to the United States. Through some of the most challenging diplomatic contexts imaginable, Ambassador Hillman has served Canada with incredible distinction, poise, substance and grace. She was named to the role in March 2020, but before that she was part of the team that...
The Carney Liberals are in grave danger of repeating a mistake the Conservatives made a year ago. They’re running the risk of eliminating the person they see as their principal opponent — but who is also one of their biggest assets, maybe the biggest of all.
Timing is everything. The Liberals won a series of elections under Justin Trudeau in part by promising to significantly lower carbon emissions, and offering a more credible plan than their Conservative opponents. That plan, headlined by consumer carbon pricing, helped boost support for the Liberals and drain support from the Conservatives, particularly among swing voters in suburban Canada, in federal...
Canada's long-held consensus on immigration -- that it's a net positive for the country -- has been coming apart in recent years. Roughly half of the population thinks too many immigrants have been coming to Canada, according to several private polling firms. That parallels a government survey from November 2024, when 54 per cent of respondents to a phone survey...
Insects, bats, rodents and other pests have been spotted in federal buildings more than 500 times in the Ottawa area this year, as the government makes plans to get public servants to spend more time in the office. Amber Sabourin, a spokesperson for Public Services and Procurement Canada, said there were 549 confirmed reports of pests in 93 Crown-owned buildings...
At the Paris AI Action Summit in February, then-prime minister Justin Trudeau and other world leaders watched as U.S. Vice President JD Vance took the stage to rail against AI regulation. Vance's speech -- delivered with his face projected on a large screen between the intricately-carved pillars lining the stage at the historic Grand Palais -- marked the beginning of...
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith's hand-picked panel re-examining the province's relationship with Ottawa says it's time to ditch the RCMP and hold a provincewide referendum on quitting the Canada Pension Plan. The Alberta Next panel, in a report with findings and recommendations, says creating a provincial pension plan was the most hotly debated topic among citizens and one that needs to...
Canada's U.S. ambassador says empathy for everyday Americans is important. If you ask Canada's Ambassador to the U.S. Kirsten Hillman how to get Trump-era Republicans on Canada's side, she'll tell you a story about a stuffed bison head. Hillman first came to Washington as deputy ambassador in 2017. She says around that time, Canada was trying to make inroads with...
With both Chantal and Bruce away this week, a special program for our final Good Talk of 2025. Bob Rae, fresh from his five years at the United Nations as Canada's Ambassador, and with his wealth of political experience, joins us to talk Canada and politics. It's a wide ranging discussion, so strap in for an engaging Good Talk.
'Many New Democrats are allergic to fundraising,' report says. The federal NDP released its internal campaign review Friday, largely avoiding casting blame on senior party officials and instead citing issues that were beyond the control of New Democrats for its worst election loss. "The overall verdict from campaign staff was that the NDP ran a technically solid campaign in a...
MONTREAL -- One of Pablo Rodriguez's main rivals during the Quebec Liberal leadership race earlier this year says he will not run to replace him.
A former member of Premier Danielle Smith's government caucus says Elections Alberta has approved the name for a new political party, after the government banned a list of monikers it could use, including "conservative." Airdrie-Cochrane MLA Peter Guthrie announced in a social media post on Thursday evening that the new party will be known as the Progressive Tory Party of...
Federal unions are accusing the federal government of setting a dangerous precedent and even "borderline theft" by funding an early retirement incentive for employees through the Public Service Pension Fund. The plan - announced in the budget in November - comes as government departments make job cuts to hit mandated budget reductions. Earlier this month, the federal government began sending...
Prime Minister Mark Carney unveiled a long-awaited shuffle of deputy ministers Friday that aim to focus on his key priorities of revitalizing the economy and the country’s national defence. He moved 12 deputies to key departments including new faces at the departments of finance and national defence. Eight deputy ministers are departing the government, according to a list of changes...
A Toronto man has been charged by the RCMP following an investigation into alleged terrorism-related offences linked to ISIS. The alleged offences occurred between June 17 and Aug. 17 of this year. The suspect, 27-year-old Toronto resident Waleed Khan, was taken into custody by the RCMP on Nov. 26. Khan is also among three people charged in connection with a...
OTTAWA -- Two MPs from a delegation that was denied access to the West Bank earlier this week are asking Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand to get Israel to explain the harsh treatment of one of their colleagues.
When Pierre Poilievre takes to the stage at the Calgary Telus Convention Centre late next month, his position at the helm of the federal Conservative Party will mainly rest on what he tells delegates attending the three-day leadership review convention. “The speech that he gives, just before people vote, fucking matters. It will be his last opportunity to persuade people...
The arrest of a Canadian Armed Forces intelligence operator on espionage charges appears to have its origins in another murky episode that has vexed the country’s military establishment for more than a year. The operator, Master Warrant Officer Matthew Shawn Robar, was arrested and charged Dec. 10 with multiple offences related to passing highly sensitive government secrets to what court...
A Canadian military counter-intelligence operative, accused of passing sensitive information to Ukraine, was warned repeatedly to stay away from a representative of that country's intelligence service and lied about the contacts he did have, military court records allege. Master Warrant Officer Matthew Robar faces eight charges under the National Defence and Security of Information acts, including communicating "special operational information"...
As the NDP looks to rebuild with a new leader in 2026, interim leader Don Davies says job one is to get the party out of the Ottawa "bubble" and listening to Canadians. In a wide-ranging interview with The Canadian Press, Davies said that before the party's near-death experience in the spring election -- which saw it lose 17 House...
Prime Minister Mark Carney says Canada will enter into formal discussions with the United States in January to review their free trade agreement. A statement from the Prime Minister's Office says Internal Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc will meet with U.S. counterparts to discuss the Canada-U.S.-Mexico trade deal. It comes after Carney met Thursday with provincial leaders to update them on...
An increasing number of Canadian TV and radio stations could close if the federal Online Streaming Act becomes a casualty of the trade war with the United States, industry leaders are warning. The act, which became law in 2023 after a bitter parliamentary battle, compels foreign platforms such as Netflix to financially support Canada’s TV, film and music sectors. Kevin...
U.S. trade representative calling for Canada to expand access to its market. Prime Minister Mark Carney reaffirmed he'll protect Canada's supply management system, as the United States signalled it's ready to fight over this country's dairy rules at the negotiating table. U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer told members of U.S. Congress Wednesday that Washington is not prepared to extend the...
Former Conservative MP Michael Ma is speaking out about his decision to cross the floor to the Liberal Party, saying he hadn’t made up his mind about the decision just the night before. Ma was photographed with Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre at the Tories’ Christmas party the night before he crossed the floor to join the Liberal caucus, putting the...
Industry Minister Melanie Joly, a prominent Liberal MP in Quebec, is ruling out a run for the provincial Liberal leadership, but insists she will be dedicating a lot of time and energy next year to pushing back against a potential referendum to leave Canada. Pablo Rodriquez, a former federal cabinet minister who served alongside Joly from 2018 to 2024, resigned...
MEDICINE HAT -- A bakery owner whose shop is becoming a hub of resistance to Alberta Premier Danielle Smith in her recall campaign has a message for those in her office calling for a customer boycott -- "bite me."
Prime Minister Mark Carney says trade irritants flagged this week by the United States are elements of a "much bigger discussion" about continental trade. Carney said Thursday he also sees "tremendous benefits" for Canada and the United States if they work co-operatively in key economic sectors. Washington's trade representative says a coming review of the Canada-U.S.-Mexico trade deal will hinge...
Ontario Premier Doug Ford says the anti-tariff ad his government ran south of the border briefly this fall, was “the best ad that’s ever been run,” despite U.S. President Donald Trump terminating trade talks with Canada over it. “12.4 billion views,” Ford said while speaking to reporters in Ottawa on Thursday. “We wanted to bring it to the attention of...
MONTREAL -- With his signature legislation to modernize doctor compensation diluted, Christian Dube announced on Thursday he would resign as health minister and quit the Coalition Avenir Quebec party altogether.
Pablo Rodriguez says he's standing tall and has no regrets after stepping down as leader of the Quebec Liberal Party amid allegations of wrongdoing during the leadership race he won in June. The former federal cabinet minister publicly announced his resignation at party headquarters in Montreal on Thursday, saying he had become a "distraction" as the party prepares for a...
Prime Minister Mark Carney and Ontario Premier Doug Ford signed an agreement Thursday to speed up approval of major projects in the province under a "one project, one process, one decision" model. This approach means that projects that would have been subject to environmental assessments at both the federal and provincial levels will now go through Ontario's process alone when...
Prime Minister Mark Carney says if U.S. President Donald Trump wanted to sit down as soon as this weekend to “hammer out” sectoral deals to ease tariffs hitting certain industries, Canada is “ready,” while conceding the chances of short-term relief for steel, aluminum and lumber sectors is unlikely. Carney said that, given trade talks remain terminated, the federal government anticipates...
The federal government says it is moving forward on a long-awaited central list of investments considered to be sustainable. The list, also known as a green taxonomy, is intended to make it clear what activities and investments fit within Canada's climate goals and help to attract private capital to them. The government says the Canadian Climate Institute, a government-funded independent...
PHOENIX (AP) -- The next presidential election is three years away, but Turning Point USA already knows it wants Vice President JD Vance as the Republican nominee.
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) -- President Donald Trump on Saturday announced he's endorsing Nassau County's Republican executive for governor in next fall's New York race, just a day after the president's longtime ally Rep. Elise Stefanik announced she was suspending her candidacy.
ALLENTOWN, Pa. (AP) -- When Idalia Bisbal moved to this Pennsylvania city synonymous with America's working class, she hoped for a cheaper, easier life than the one she was leaving behind in her hometown of New York City.
ROCKY MOUNT, N.C. (AP) -- She had worked 22 days straight in her job as a technician at an engine plant to save up, and now Daijah Bryant could finally do what she was putting off: Christmas shopping.
Canada's U.S. ambassador says empathy for everyday Americans is important. If you ask Canada's Ambassador to the U.S. Kirsten Hillman how to get Trump-era Republicans on Canada's side, she'll tell you a story about a stuffed bison head. Hillman first came to Washington as deputy ambassador in 2017. She says around that time, Canada was trying to make inroads with...
Senior Global Affairs leadership and a parliamentary aide to Prime Minister Mark Carney are in China now for talks that could pave the way for him to visit next year. Mr. Carney, looking for new export markets because of an increasingly protectionist United States under President Donald Trump, is trying to patch up relations with Beijing after a severe diplomatic...
A Liberal MP says she was shoved multiple times by Israeli border officials as her delegation was denied entry to the West Bank Tuesday morning. Ontario MP Iqra Khalid says she was pushed after trying to check on a member of the roughly 30-person delegation who was pulled aside for additional questioning after the group had been at the Allenby...
The National Council of Canadian Muslims says a delegation of Canadians that includes six members of Parliament was denied entry to the West Bank at the Israeli border Tuesday morning. Israel's embassy in Canada says the group was denied entry because of links to Islamic Relief Worldwide, which is listed as a terror entity by Israel. B.C. NDP MP Jenny...
On the morning of November 4, 2025, an off-year Election Day, White House chief of staff Susie Wiles was meeting in the Oval Office with the president and his top advisers, men she calls her “core team”: Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Stephen Miller, deputy chief of staff. The agenda was twofold: ending the congressional...
The year 2025 was a year of volatility, experimentation, and recalibration across Asia and Canada. Much of the volatility stemmed from U.S. President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariff agenda, which upended global trade norms and injected new uncertainty into supply chains. China, meanwhile, pressed ahead with an increasingly assertive industrial strategy, even as it contended with slower domestic growth and structural...
Even modest Canadian engagement with China may be judged less on its merits than on how it is interpreted in the U.S. within a framework designed to ‘wind down adversarial outside influence.’
On November 4th, Budget 2025 shifted the Carney government’s policy priorities to economic growth and national defence in response to a rupture in Canada-US trade relations and new NATO commitments. Public finance with a focus on capital investment is the principal instrument of change. In line with this strategy, a closer look at Canada’s sagging productivity suggests the next budget...
A collection of SubStack publishing within Canadian public affairs.
You may want to dust off your Bescherelles, Canadian politicos: the battle for the future of Québec is where things are going to happen in 2026. In case you missed it, today the new leader of the Québec Liberal Party, Pablo Rodriguez, announced his resignation. His resignation was precipitated by a terrible, scandalous month for the QLP — one that...
The federal government this week dumped its load of annual statistics about citizens’ use of the Access to Information Act.
Stephen Thorne has died. The bitter, unexpected death of a tough journalist who wrote about death but couldn’t report on his own. He’d have written a damn fine story about it. I was his boss for years, in Halifax and Ottawa, though Stephen had no time for bosses. He followed his nose for stories whether or not anybody asked for...
Tony Keller joins the Everything Political panel with former MPs Martha Hall Findlay and Tony Clement to discuss his book “Borderline Chaos: How Canada Got Immigration Right, and Then Wrong,” the historical consensus on immigration, the rise in levels under Trudeau, the temporary foreign workers program, if the Canadian consensus on immigration has been broken, where we are now, and...
After eight years in Washington, Canada's U.S. ambassador Kirsten Hillman is coming home. Over that time, she has seen Canada's relationship with the United States transform, for better and for worse. As she prepares to step down from her ambassadorship, she explains in an extended interview with host Catherine Cullen how she’s built critical connections in the U.S. capital —...
CBC chief political correspondent Rosemary Barton asks The National’s At Issue panel to look back on a jam-packed year politically. From an election, to tariffs, to pipelines, the At Issue panel breaks it all down in a special Holiday At Issue. Rosemary Barton hosts Chantal Hébert, Andrew Coyne and Althia Raj.
Another floor-crosser brings Mark Carney within one vote of a majority and leaves Pierre Poilievre scrambling for a defense. Then, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith joins Playbook Canada to talk pipelines and power.
